I finally found a Model A for a rod project I have wanted to do for some time. I put a "Wanted" add on CL some time back and received a call from a storage locker where an unfinished project was sitting.
I went to check it out and what I found was a gem.
It is a 1928 Model A Sedan. It already had been in the process of being hot rodded. Came with 4" dropped axkle and 4 link with coilovers and D60 rear with disc brakes! Aftermarket frame.
I have had the entire vehicle about 2 months but was unable to start any work until last Sunday when I finally got it off the trailer.
So far I have only put the front cowel quarter panels on.
The top has already been chopped but the work all around is shotty at best. I will be chopping 1-2" while keeping the rear window the same as it currently sits.
I need to figure how I am going to Z the frame given the suspension it currently has. I imagine the rear 4 link will go in favor of air bags.
Channeling will come along hopefully soon too depending on time.
This thread will be slow growing but here is what it looks like----FOR NOW!
BTW, sorry for the $hitty pic quality!

Well what the real question is is how much did you end up paying to get this?

I think I did good. I landed it for $4k.

As I mentioned before, the work is pretty crappy. There is a sun roof grafted in the top that will come out but after I do the additional chop. It will provide some extra stability. I am going to try and get a bunch of bracing materials and weld them in this weekend. If I get real energetic, I may chop it. I imagine my ADD will kick in and beer will become priority.

Here are some more. I laid out the line and chopped 2" more. I left the rear window the same height. I pretty much had it laid out, reinforced, chopped, and tacked back together in under 4hrs. Not bad for working by myself.

In order for me to get the stance I want, I am going to have to cut out all of the 4 link that is currently in place in the rear and kick the rear up quite a bit. I am still going to stick with the coilovers suspension in place of a standard airbag set up.

I will also be extending the frame forward the cowel roughly 3" which will give me enough firewall clearance too. Obviously the frame will be "Z'd" 4".

Once the frame is chopped up and put back together, I will channel the body accordingly and then go from there.

I was not sure how much to chop at first but after I measured the mack window and realized I wanted that to remain the same height, it became clear that the 2" would be a good amount for me.

I wish I had an extra set of hands at times, but then I would have to listen to them talk the rest of the time.

I am kinda bummed that I need to cut the suspension, etc up/off. Partially because it is a $hitty job and also because it interferes with the frame configuration I am going with. I guess, though, that that is a plus. If it were a smoking job and excellent work, I would really have a hard time chopping it up.

I must say, this is a welcome relief from working on Jeeps, etc. This is just something I have wanted to screw around with for a long time and finally got the chance.

Not something that will get done overnight, but something I should stay relatively focussed on.

Looks awesome so far man. I just recently took on a side project finishing up a 30 Ford model A truck hot rod. FYI: on OFN, you may be able to get away with the term "rat rod". But trust me, be very very careful where else you use that term. I posted some questions on popular "traditional hot rod forum" using the term rat rod... And holy crap I got eaten alive. Rat rods, by traditional hot rod terms, are pos's built by hipster kids looking to piss anyone and everyone off and usually include flame throwers, lots of skulls, mini truck lowrider engineering and shoddy workmanship at best. It really is all about the wording. If you call it a hot rod, you get respect. If you call the same car/truck a rat rod.... Brace yourself! Haha! Those "traditional" guys are not messing around!!

I look forward to seeing this come together for ya. BTW, the one I'm working on has a custom frame, Z'd in the rear, 4 linked, on air bags with a cantilever linkage set up. Pretty slick. Check the pics.

I like that truck. I was actually looking for one when I ran across mine.

As for the question about some cutting a sunroof, yes. Someone took an entire roof out of a minivan I think and slapped it in the roof. They did a real crappy job too.

I have the body and frame seperated and am getting ready to chop the frame. It is a nice Pete and Jakes frame and suspension. It has the highboy style with triangulated 4 link rear. I am going to keep the suspension the way it is and still cut the frame. I think I can make it do what I want with totally losing the suspension geometry, etc.

I finally got a chance to get back into the shop to play around with this project. The heat has just been too brutal to do too much. With the break in the heat, I got a chance to chop the frame up and extend it. Dropped the middle section 4 inches and then extended the front 5 inches. I reinforced the frame. After that was complete, the temperature was so nice that I had to keep going. I channeled the body by cutting the floor boards out. As you can see in the final front shot, it is not fully dropped as much as it will be. Reason being, I had welded a reinforcement in the way of part of the frame. If I don't go outta town next week, I will take care of that and start putting the floor in it.

In the last pic, you can see that it is a bit lower than the other pics. It still has about 3-4" more to drop down. It's getting there and should be full steam ahead if the weather hods out!

Got a chance to get back up to the shop this past Saturday. I did not get into the floor boards yet, but that will be next weekend. Here are the latest pics. Nothing too spectacular, but this is the look. I will have slightly larger tires in the rear which will give a slight rake to the overall look. Not much but just enough IMO.